Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesSunday's round was a mixed bag for Tiger Woods, but he wound up carding scores in the 60s in back-to-back rounds for only the second time this year.

At times, Woods looked comfortable. In others, his round was a struggle. He still managed to finish with a 2-under 69, marking just the second time this season that he's carded scores in the 60s in back-to-back rounds.

In the big picture, there's still room for improvement, but Woods viewed Sunday's performance as another step forward. While hitting 12 of 18 fairways, he got off to a slow start, hitting only two of seven on the front nine.

Woods stressed that he's sticking to the plan -- no matter what the playing conditions might be. Sunday featured a persistent southwest breeze.

"Today was definitely more of a challenge," Woods said. "The wind blows and I think everybody reverts back to what's natural. I had to really grind and stay committed to what I was doing out there. I did for the most part.

"Early on, I was struggling a little bit. Then I fixed it, got it and I hit a lot of good shots after that."

Woods found some consistency toward the middle of his round. He birdied holes four, five and seven to move to 8-under. He had another opportunity for birdie on the par-3 eighth hole, but pushed a 40-plus foot putt just to the right of the pin.

He let out a groan after missing the tough chance.

"Yeah, that was a nice putt there," Woods said. "Geez, I know it's downwind and just past the hole there, about a foot and a half, and it starts running away. I know that and I still hit it too hard. But it was nice to make about a 10-footer there."

Woods was unable to keep the momentum through to the back nine, however. He bogeyed the par-5 ninth with a two-putt. It was one of two bogeys on the round for Woods, who also rimmed out a par attempt on the par-4 14th.

He finished the round with a flourish, putting for birdie on the par-5 18th to a spirited ovation by the gallery.

Woods stands tied for 23rd at 7-under 206 overall at the second stop of the FedEx Cup and is 10 strokes behind leader Jason Day.

"Overall today, I thought I played better than what my score indicated," Woods said. "I had a lot of putts that I didn't make today. I made a couple of nice par putts, but I missed a lot of birdie putts."

When asked what he was most pleased about after his third-round performance, Woods referred to that learning curve.

"Just being able to commit to these changes in the wind and shaping the shots. That was a good step forward today."

Scott Barboza joined ESPNBoston.com as a high schools editor/reporter in May 2010. He spent the previous three seasons working in the New England Patriots media relations department after a stint at the Taunton Daily Gazette, where he covered everything from Little League baseball to the Boston Red Sox.